Two Post Lift? new garage slab pour - Dream Garage

[1968SWTs]

Any recommendations for a two post lift?
i.e. Tiger 2 Post Lifts - Tiger T-9AF 2 Post Lift - Tiger 2 Post Lifts for Cars & Trucks
Any recommendations for what to add during garage construction?
(don't have the cars yet) - Scale images (+metric)

[rnln]

If you will pour new concrete floor, do extra good for safty and the peace of mind.

[Dave Colangelo]

some things you may want to install,

Electrical sockets a bit above bench level on the walls so that you are not always crawling under things to plug stuff in

Lots of lights, I hate working in low light and had some extra florescent lights installed and they make a huge difference

Central air, if your garage is that big you may want to run some air piping around so that you can have one compressor feeding the whole place and not need to run super long hoses.

Three Phase electricity if you have tools that require it or intend to ever buy such tools.

A good stereo, I cant work with out music.

Some advise on the concrete floor if you intend to paint it, dont, unless you live in a very very dry area. I just painted my concrete floor and it was a huge mistake. My garage is partially underground and the floor gets moist in the summer when its humid out. In the past the concrete just absorbed it but now the water builds up on the surface of the paint and forms a very slippery layer. I have fallen a few times recently and am lucky to not be seriously hurt.

Im quite jealous of your lift though

Regards
Dave

[1968SWTs]

Central air - of course - I love that - maybe the compressor outside.
I am thinking of 12 volt outlets as well.

[JJ 911SC]

Fridge and Flag...

[RoninLB]

I'm still working on my new garage

Slab was poured with grey tint perfectly level. Leveled with a laser. I bought a used high speed concrete polishing machine. It looks like a floor polisher but runs at a higher speed. With the help of various grits of diamond pads I hope it'll look like polished granite after I get through the top surface milk layer and down into the stone. My 10' concrete straight edge was about $125. A polished surface will show any dips in the pour so it's like doing auto body paint prep for black paint.

Slab also has high end vapor barrier and radiant heat. The high end yellow stuff costs about a $150

I use a Snap-On mid rise lift. You can find them used for about $1,000 - $1,500. It's heavy duty Detroit iron.

Besides routine electric I wired in one 8ga 220v for a welder and two 10g 220v lines for a compressor and whatever else I dream up.

I also installed a heavy duty header laid flat under the garage peak bolted a 4x4 I-beam and installed a chain fall/hoist and trolly.

[RoninLB]

chain fall and garage w/10'x16' door and 8'x10' doors

[rothaus]

Here is what I have. I have a 10ft ceiling and the 911 get's high enough to stand under the car to work. You need a 220v supply above the post where the pump is.






Cheers

[PropellerHead]

If you are pouring a new floor, up-light under where the lift will be. Recess some flood light buckets into the floor so that you have lights shining up on the bottom of the car from below. Get creative with LED strips?

This is magic when working under the car and isn't too difficult when you're pouring the floor to do this. Think pool lights or landscape lights which would be waterpoof that is strong enough to drag a floor jack over.

Something like this:
PG003 | Affordable Quality Lighting

I'll be installing a 2-post in my garage soon. I have the lift, just need to raise the garage door tracks and replace the opener. Unfortunately - I'm not pouring a floor so up-lighting isn't something easy for me to do! I'll have to live vicariously though others.

[pjh69911]

If you have room, make the garage bigger(deeper and wider). You can then have shelving on the sides and open your doors easily.

[Don Ivey]

Make sure you pour at least 6" floor as most two post lifts require a certain thickness for safety. Mine is only 4" and I have a MaxJax, but I'm using it anyway (and watching very closely for cracks, etc.). Great tool!

[dad911]

If you haven't poured the floor yet, rather than pour the whole floor thicker, you can make the center section much stronger by digging a channel side to side where the lift will mount. I'd probably make it about 18" wide and 4-6" deeper than rest of the floor, effectively making the area where the lift bolts down 8-10" thick. I'd also put in rebar, a few 3" from the bottom, and some 3" from the top.

Make sure the garage doors use high-lift track & torsion springs. (See rothaus pic above) high-lift would have the tracks near the ceiling, clearing the car on the lift.

A 10'-8" ceiling height is minimum required for a two post or 4 post lift to stack 2 cars (911s)..... but if you a little higher, you can get a 2 post with the cables & pneumatics overhead, so you can roll toolboxes, jacks, etc under the lift.

Looking back at your sketch..... is this a detached, separate structure? If so I'd add a man-door so you don't have to open the double garage door to get in, and you will still be able to get in if there is a power failure.

[1968SWTs]

thank you all - love the suggestions
attached the real plan that has the man door
thinking of carriage doors - swinging out - eliminates the track overhead and the door overhead when the garage is open (hopefully often)
with a fabricated opening system or none
had sliding doors in another house - fabricated a custom opener that is still working after 10 years

[HawgRyder]

If you don't have the room for swinging doors....how about the old stlye barn track?
It slides the door sideways and can remain open and still look good.
Also...for the hoist....pour your footings for them twice the depth that they call for...and embed the threaded rod into the concrete when you pour.
This will be much stronger and you will never have doubts about it.
I like the idea of central air...in my old garage I head the compressor in the corner....walled off...and vented for heat buildup to the outside.
If you build a wall around the compressor with Roxul type insulation (the green stuff) it is flame retardent and sound absorbing.
By all means...lots of lights...on separate circuits (doesn't hurt) and air take offs with water traps at each downrun (to drain them).
If you plumb the compressor line from the tank upwards and put a downward line at that spot ("T" junction) the water will not go up into the main lines...and you can drain (or use a truck air line drain...automatic) before it gets to your tools.
Have fun
Bob

[1968SWTs]

thanks for the air tips - the sliding doors were a lot of fun- also thinking of aircraft hangar doors (they would work well for 911s but perhaps bad for resale because everyone wants an SUV)


carriage doors are in issue for houses in snow - but in the Bay Area we are snow free

[Chuck.H]

Roll up doors are not that expensive, that's what I used in my shop to avoid the problems with conventional garage doors (Block lift and lights, don't work well with high ceilings).

Mine are manual but you can add an opener to them... Hmmm, you could probably modify a chain-driven conventional opener to do it now that I think about it.

Chuck.H
'89 TurboLookTarga, 334k miles

[1968SWTs]

Originally Posted by Chuck.H

Roll up doors are not that expensive, that's what I used in my shop to avoid the problems with conventional garage doors (Block lift and lights, don't work well with high ceilings).

Mine are manual but you can add an opener to them... Hmmm, you could probably modify a chain-driven conventional opener to do it now that I think about it.

Chuck.H
'89 TurboLookTarga, 334k miles

thanks - didn't even think of that

Shopping Cart
Item Options Unit Price Qty. In Stock Cost
Roll Up Door Roll Up Doors Direct Model 2500 18'-0" wide X 10'-0" high.
[remove]
Frame Material : Wood
Lock Latch Position : Internal
Color : Forest Green
Finished Frame Width in both feet and inches : 16'-0"
Finished Frame Height in both feet and inches : 9'-0"
Electric Operator : Electric Motor and Remote (+595)
Insulation : Insulation (+563)
Top Draft Seal : Top Draft Seal (+23)
Hood : Hood (+306)
$2,812.00 $2,812.00

Subtotal: $2,812.00
Total: $2,812.00

[David in VA]

We just built our garage this year, I bought an Eagle two post clear floor lift. A couple of comments:

- Built 12 ft ceilings to accomodate the lift, baseplate model can go lower
- Reinforced about a 1.5 square foot area where each post goes. Lift requires 4 inches we did 8.
- In retrospect I would have bought a lift with lower pads, I still have to drive up on planks to get the arms under the cars. These are all lowered quite a bit.
- As much light as you can get
- Put in a liftmaster 3800 opener, love it.

[kodioneill]

New addition for mine. Don't know if this will help in your decision or not but I would go with a asymmetrical two post.

[POS]

I'm nearly done getting my dream house built, and my one condition with the wife was to have a detached, nice garage. Two-post Rotary lift, a lot of lighting, cabinetry, tool box, compressor, parts washer, vise, grinding wheels, AC, etc.

I'm about two months away from move-in. Here's the garage from afar:


This is the interior - 18' cathedral ceilings with a high-lift garage door:


My cabinets for storage and work space:


Eventually, the 911S, the CJ7, and my 128i daily driver will reside in there. I have a second, more useable garage up front for the Suburbans. The 6.3 lives at an airport hanger, so I'll trade the 911S out for the 6.3 every now and then. I'd have built an even larger garage for more cars, but the city ordinance won't allow me to maximize any more sq footage of my lot. Regardless, I'm quite stoked that it's almost done.